Gaming Guru

Sal and Frank talk the Captain and craps

This letter has many questions and comments, so I will answer them as they come up.

FROM SAL: You are one of my favorite reads. Primarily craps reads. Especially all the words you have written regarding the Captain (God rest his soul). I would have loved to have met him and toss the bones with him. I'd like to meet you too one day and toss the dice.

I can recall when I began my search on the Net many years ago for anyone that set dice. I recall thinking, “There must be others that do this.” There was not much out there at that time and then I read about Stanly Fujitake and upon my first trip to Vegas I had to visit the California Club and see the case with the “Golden Hand.”

But, I really don't know if he set the dice. Although, I think I read recently (perhaps by reading something you wrote) that he did not set the dice? Any idea?

FRANK: Fujitake was not a controlled shooter. His achievement of 118 rolls was strictly luck. The World Champion with 153 numbers rolled is Pat DeMauro. She also had profound luck that night doing something that was about 5.6 billion to one! The Captain’s 147 was controlled shooting.

SAL: Anyway, I've played craps for over 30 years and have always set.

As a kid I made a craps layout in a cardboard box and played with other friends.

I knew from an early age that dice setting could be done and with precision tossing, certain numbers could be repeated and almost tossed at will. However, I never gambled in a casino until I was 34 and that was 21 years ago.

FRANK: I do wish you could toss numbers at will but that doesn’t really happen for a controlled shooter. Essentially such shooters are changing the overall statistics (probabilities) of the game by having certain numbers appear more or less often.

SAL: I had an 11 point roll a month ago at our local barge here in the Chicago area. It's hard for the shooter (at least me) to keep track of rolls, but not only was the SRR off the chart, I would take an educated guess that I tossed somewhere between 60-90 numbers (way off the normal chart).

FRANK: Use chips to count rolls so you don’t have to waste any mental energy. White chips ($1) count as one; red chips ($5) count as 5; green chips ($25) count as 25 and black chips ($100) count as 100. So if you have rolled nine times, you would have a red and four white chips in the rack. No thinking required.

SAL: Frank, I have a few questions for you. The only book on craps I had ever purchased was your “Beat the Craps out of the Casinos” many years ago when it first came out. Fantastic book!

I think after the purchase I could not put it down and read it cover to cover. I was especially intrigued at the time on reading of the Captain, his systems and of course the 5-Count.

Upon reading about the Doey/Don't I couldn't wait to play it for the first time. I don't play it any longer, but it was a fun system.

FRANK: The Captain and I both jettisoned the Doey/Don’t Supersystem. I think that one mistake shows that the Captain was human after all.

SAL: The only other book I have bought most recently was your “Cutting Edge Craps: Advanced Strategies for Serious Players.” Most of what is in the book is old hat to me, but the reason I bought it was I wanted to read more about the meditation or getting into what I call the Zone. I can count perhaps a dozen times I have been in the Zone and the rolls were not only fruitful, but surrealistic, needless to say.

This leads me to my first question:

In “Cutting Edge Craps” there are several times when you write the word Whirl and here in Chicagoland we call it World. (I know if I have had a few too many, I call it squirrel) Is this East Coast jargon and perhaps both are correct?

FRANK: Both are correct. Bad bet no matter what it is called.

SAL: I can see by all the reads on the Captain that I could ever find (which are not a lot) his name is never mentioned. Has his name ever been published? What was the reasoning for his nickname of The Captain? Did he wear a Captain's hat? Did he own a boat?

FRANK: His name has never been mentioned, although plenty of people (players, casino personnel and a few readers) know who he was. His Crew named him the Captain as he was their leader. In World War II he was in the Army Air Corps. My new book “I Am a Dice Controller: Inside the World of Advantage-Play Craps” (which will be out May 1, 2015) has his complete story and my adventures with him and his Crew; and my adventures with the modern dice controllers. He didn’t wear a Captain’s hat or have a boat.

SAL: Is there any commemoration to the Captain as in a plaque or case like Fujitake’s Golden Hand about his craps skill?

FRANK: No. The casino where the Captain had his roll was a big one. The California Club is tiny by comparison. Also, the Captain didn’t want any mention of his achievement -– except I couldn’t resist writing about it. As Ralph Kramden of “The Honeymooners” said: “I have a BIG mouth!”

SAL: Lastly, What is the origin of the craps slang "Little Joe"? I know that "Yo" is from Texas drawl of "Yo-Eleven" shortened to "Yo."

We all know that "Little Joe" is for the four and usually the hard four. Everything I have ever found was for it being a small number and I read somewhere that it may have been derived from a bowler named "Little Joe" when they used to have tournament bowling in Kokomo, Indiana.

Thoughts?

Well, as it happens my father would sometimes say the slang jargon “Little Joe from Kokomo,” perhaps because he resided in Indiana at one time or maybe played craps having been in the army (like the phrase “blanket roll”), I don't recall Dad ever have followed bowling though.

What I did notice is on any map the roads Rt. 22 and Rt. 31 go right through Kokomo, Indiana. Coincidence?

FRANK: There are a lot of reasons given for why “Little Joe” is used to describe the hard 4. None definitive. I think your Indiana one sounds great. Rt 22 = 4; Rt. 31 = 4 as well.

For your great email I am sending you a copy of my book “The Virgin Kiss.”

Frank Scoblete’s new books are “I Am a Card Counter: Inside the World of Advantage-Play Blackjack” and “Confessions of a Wayward Catholic.”

This article is provided by the Frank Scoblete Network. Melissa A. Kaplan is the network's managing editor. If you would like to use this article on your website, please contact Casino City Press, the exclusive web syndication outlet for the Frank Scoblete Network. To contact Frank, please e-mail him at fscobe@optonline.net.

Frank Scoblete is the #1 best selling gaming author in America. His newest books are Slots Conquest: How to Beat the Slot Machines; Everything Casino Poker: Get the Edge at Video Poker, Texas Hold'em, Omaha Hi-Lo and Pai Gow Poker!; Beat Blackjack Now: The Easiest Way to Get the Edge; Casino Craps: Shoot to Win!; Cutting Edge Craps: Advanced Strategies for Serious Players; Casino Conquest: Beat the Casinos at Their Own Games! and The Virgin Kiss.

Frank and Casino City Times columnist Jerry "Stickman" teach private lessons in dice control. Frank's books are available at Amazon.com, in bookstores or by mail order. Call 1-800-944-0406 or write to Frank Scoblete Enterprises, PO Box 446, Malverne, NY 11565. Frank can also be reached by email at fscobe@optonline.net.

Frank Scoblete Websites:

Books by Frank Scoblete:

Frank Scoblete is the #1 best selling gaming author in America. His newest books are Slots Conquest: How to Beat the Slot Machines; Everything Casino Poker: Get the Edge at Video Poker, Texas Hold'em, Omaha Hi-Lo and Pai Gow Poker!; Beat Blackjack Now: The Easiest Way to Get the Edge; Casino Craps: Shoot to Win!; Cutting Edge Craps: Advanced Strategies for Serious Players; Casino Conquest: Beat the Casinos at Their Own Games! and The Virgin Kiss.

Frank and Casino City Times columnist Jerry "Stickman" teach private lessons in dice control. Frank's books are available at Amazon.com, in bookstores or by mail order. Call 1-800-944-0406 or write to Frank Scoblete Enterprises, PO Box 446, Malverne, NY 11565. Frank can also be reached by email at fscobe@optonline.net.

Books by Frank Scoblete:

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